Revelation 2:9

2:9 ‘I know the distress you are suffering ¹  and your poverty (but you are rich). I also know ²  the slander against you ³  by those who call themselves Jews and really are not, but are a synagogue ⁴  of Satan.

Revelation 2:20

2:20 But I have this against you: You tolerate that ⁵  woman ⁶  Jezebel, ⁷  who calls herself a prophetess, and by her teaching deceives ⁸  my servants ⁹  to commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. ¹⁰ 

Revelation 3:3

3:3 Therefore, remember what you received and heard, ¹¹  and obey it, ¹²  and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will never ¹³  know at what hour I will come against ¹⁴  you.

Revelation 13:4

13:4 they worshiped the dragon because he had given ruling authority ¹⁵  to the beast, and they worshiped the beast too, saying: “Who is like the beast?” and “Who is able to make war against him?” ¹⁶ 

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¹ tn Or “know your suffering.” This could refer to suffering or distress caused by persecution (see L&N 22.2).

² tn Because of the length and complexity of this Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation by supplying the phrase “I also know” to link this English sentence back to “I know” at the beginning of the verse.

³ tn The words “against you” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

⁴ sn A synagogue was a place for Jewish prayer and worship, with recognized leadership (e.g., Mt 4:23, Mk 1:21, Lk 4:15, Jn 6:59).

⁵ tn The Greek article has been translated here with demonstrative force.

⁶ tc The ms evidence for γυναῖκα (gunaika, “woman”) alone includes {א C P 1611 2053 pc lat}. The ms evidence for the addition of “your” (σου, sou) includes A 1006 2351 Ï^K pc sy. With the pronoun, the text reads “your wife, Jezebel” instead of “that woman, Jezebel.” In Revelation, A C are the most important mss, along with א Ì⁴⁷ (which only reads in portions of chapters 9-17) 1006 1611 2053; in this instance, the external evidence slightly favors the shorter reading. But internally, it gains strength. The longer reading implies the idea that the angel in 2:18 is the bishop or leader of the church in Thyatira. The pronoun “your” (σου) is used four times in vv. 19-20 and may have been the cause for the scribe copying it again. Further, once the monarchical episcopate was in vogue (beginning in the 2nd century) scribes might have been prone to add “your” here.

⁷ sn Jezebel was the name of King Ahab’s idolatrous and wicked queen in 1 Kgs 16:31; 18:1-5; 19:1-3; 21:5-24. It is probable that the individual named here was analogous to her prototype in idolatry and immoral behavior, since those are the items singled out for mention.

⁸ tn Grk “teaches and deceives” (διδάσκει καὶ πλανᾷ, didaskei kai plana), a construction in which the first verb appears to specify the means by which the second is accomplished: “by her teaching, deceives…”

⁹ tn See the note on the word “servants” in 1:1.

¹⁰ sn To commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. Note the conclusions of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15:29, which specifically prohibits Gentile Christians from engaging in these activities.

¹¹ tn The expression πῶς εἴληφας καὶ ἤκουσας (pw" eilhfa" kai hkousa") probably refers to the initial instruction in the Christian life they had received and been taught; this included doctrine and ethical teaching.

¹² tn Grk “keep it,” in the sense of obeying what they had initially been taught.

¹³ tn The negation here is with οὐ μή (ou mh, the strongest possible form of negation in Koine Greek).

¹⁴ tn Or “come on.”

¹⁵ tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.

¹⁶ tn On the use of the masculine pronoun to refer to the beast, see the note on the word “It” in 13:1.